


Of Weddings and Winters

by starfishie



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-09 19:18:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starfishie/pseuds/starfishie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story takes place just after the Second Titan War. Slightly AU. One-shot. Percabeth fluff indeed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Weddings and Winters

Percy and I quickly escape the party.

Parties aren't really my thing, but attendance to your boyfriends parents' wedding reception is kind of mandatory.

Don't get me wrong, though; I love Sally and Paul and am completely delighted at their being wedded. The ceremony itself was quaint and beautiful, just like the bride.

After all of the exciting, traditional reception plans, Percy and I quickly found ourselves slumping in satin-draped chairs, just watching the dancing.

Now, being ADHD, that was quite a problem. All we had to do was share a look, and we bolted.

We push through the venue's white double doors, holding hands as we descend the few stairs leading to the sidewalk.

The chilly early winter air bites at the exposed skin around my ankles and arms, making me shiver and hug Percy's arm in an attempt to warm up.

Noticing my discomfort, Percy shakes his head. "You know, for a wise girl you really didn't make a great plan tonight."

"Oh, shut up, you."

He unlatches me from his arm anyway, shrugs off his black jacket, and drapes it around my shoulders.

Now, I know what you must be thinking: Percy's actually wearing nice clothes for a change? And yeah, I know, shocker. But this is a very important event in his life and either he figured it'd be nice supporting his mom like that, or someone forced the clothes onto him. I myself would've rather come in the usual jeans and T-shirt, but I figured that if Percy could do it, I'd have to suck it up and do the same.

Apparently, as the jacket was taken off, Percy noticed a flaw in his ensemble. As far as I can see, nothing seems to be amiss, but, being the psycho that he is, he finds it. I immediately see what's wrong. His bow tie. Yeah, you heard me. He repositions the navy blue abomination, then grins at me like everything's jolly.

"Why-on Earth-are you wearing a bow tie?"

A horror-struck look spreads across his face. "Hey! Don't hate. Bow ties are cool."

I roll my eyes. "Well, come on. We shouldn't be out here too long."

We stroll across the always-busy street as the traffic light turns red.

Fortunately for us, Sally booked a location just on the corner of Central Park. Beautiful planning if you ask me.

I haven't seen a New York winter in quite a while (as I've been residing in San Francisco for the past couple of years), so my breath is blown away when we catch sight of the glorious park. Little sprinkles of snow powder the extensive fields and smooth rocks like sugar. Not many people are out, but a few brave souls are jogging or biking the park roads. In the growing dusk, the canopy of trees casts a waning shadow on the landscape.

Most people would call a New York winter gloomy and dull, but the brumous weather doesn't faze me one bit. Just being here with Percy is worth the biting cold and grey clouds.

We dash across the green toward a small metal bench. Now, this wouldn't have been my first choice in seating because the metal keeps in cold, but, unless we wanted to freeze our tails off sitting in the snow-dusted grass, it was our only option.

After brushing most of the thin snow off the chilled metal, we slide onto the bench next to each other.

At this moment, I can no longer feel the beat of the music in my head and the fresh, wintry air is doing me wonders, if not making me a little sleepy. I rest my head against Percy's shoulder, snuggling into his side. He throws his arm around my shoulders and lays his head against mine.

Despite the numbing sensation spreading its way through my sandaled feet and my intermittent shivering, the night couldn't have been more beautiful. The park is now almost completely engulfed in darkness. A single streetlight illuminates our bench, the light spilling in a circular pool around us, cutting us off from the rest of the world. Snow is lightly falling now, just enough so that Percy's dark hair becomes speckled with white. A light fog is static in the distance, and a thought crosses my mind that this is perfect zombie invasion weather, but I quickly dismiss it, not wanting it to ruin this perfect scene.

This is usually the time that something goes wrong and either we're attacked or ran over by a car or something, so I'm practically waiting for it to happen. Either that, or this especially cheesy moment will plead with the Fates and let us off the hook for just this one night.

Breaking the calming silence around us, Percy's teeth start chattering.

"I'm s-s-soo c-cold." He whines.

I know he's never really been the best of friends with cold weather—he proved that when we went to Maine a couple years back with his constant complaining.

"Aren't you cold?" He asks. "W-what are you—bionic woman or something?"

"No, I've just gotten used to it after all that time."

When I ran away from home, I was constantly outside, braving the weather. Even when my salvation found me we had had to cross the country with nothing but what we could carry on our backs—which wasn't much.

"You ready?" I wondered, kind of hoping he'd reject and we'd get to live in this infinite moment for at least a little while longer.

"Yeah; anyway, my mom's probably getting worried by now."

I unhinge myself from the warmth of his side and stand up stiffly. Moving out of that position introduced me to the actual reality of how cold it really was and I was bouncing on my toes for kinetic energy in no time.

Percy pushes himself from the bench, looking even stiffer than I and grabs my hand, entwining our fingers.

We take off back toward the reception. Though it's extremely difficult to run with sandals on, I try my best.

Percy flings open one of the tall doors and runs inside like his life depended on it. Lights of all colors spill out and I'm met with a cacophony of sounds—from dance music blaring to people laughing and having a good time.

I shut the door as quickly as I can, securing the cold air on the other side. I sigh in relief and let the warmth soak through my body, straight into my bones.

I catch sight of Sally on the dance floor. She looks glorious in her white gown, her curly brown hair pinned up in a fancy do. She spots me watching her and winks, a knowing smile spreading across her face.

I guess there's nothing Sally Jackson—now Sally Blofis—doesn't know.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos, a favorite, and/or a comment! They mean the world to me!


End file.
